This was part of a list of 68 soup recipes I saw randomly on a social media post somewhere. The recipe itself linked back to Delish.

This was a pretty easy recipe to make with well laid out instructions. You gotta love recipe sites for some of their standardized recipe formats. Having said that, with all the Italian seasonings in this soup I would have half expected to receive it on a scrap of paper from someone’s Nonna.

With the garlic, tomatoes, and onion first into the pot, the smells made me think I had just walked into a small kitchen on an Italian hillside. If I looked at the ingredients without aid of a recipe I would have thought I was making a pasta sauce, but before long the spaghetti sauce scents were subdued with the addition of 6 cups of chicken stock. Even this early in the prep the melange of scents were teasing me with glimpses of the flavours soon to be flaved.

Store bought pasta will always be a poor substitute for fresh, but wanting to limit the amount of production for this endeavour, I found a hearty looking penne that would be easy to scoop in to a spoon and equally easy to cut up into pieces for my young son. To the pot, with the pasta!

In my experience the cornerstone of most Italian dishes is the proper selection of cheese. Too often in western culture a lovingly made pasta is ruined with an over processed pre-shredded Parmesan. Sinning with the use of pasta I did not make myself, I hoped the cheese selection would be my path to redemption. A premium wedge of parmigiana regalia was paired with a fresh sphere of mozzarella. Both of these were shredded and then, like the gentle snowfall of a calm winter night, sprinkled into the pot before being slowly swirled in the broth. At this point I could feel a tingle in the air – flavour magic was occurring.

It was also around this time that the wife began hovering around the edges of the kitchen, like a mischievous child trying to steal the first cookie from the oven. This itself was a good sign that this recipe might be a winner, further reinforced by her repeated questions as to when the food would be ready.

The soup prepped, the pasta al dente, and the parsley held aloft with strands of cheese running throughout the broth, it was time to fetch the ladle and feed my family.

The smell test was quickly passed with great success. Although liquid, this was clearly the scent of a Chicken Parm before me. The spoon dipped deep into the bowl, slowly swirling once then twice before beginning its ascension to the maw of judgement. Cheesy deliciousness mixed with savoury tomato goodness, coating and running throughout the pieces of penne and chicken. This soup did not disappoint.

Learning from my mistake with the last soup, I specifically planned to bring some to work the next day and see how it tasted. Sadly this is where the Chicken Parm tasted of naught but disappointment… well, disappointment and cheese. The big problem, and likely one all pasta soups would face, is the noodles were overly soft the following day and ended up just being mushy which kind of ruined the mouth feel of the soup. It wasn’t bad, it was just a far cry from the deliciousness of the fresh soup.

All together I liked it and will probably make this again. So, if you’re looking for some cheesy savoury goodness, this soup is for you!